(Jpost).Environment Minister Gilad Erdan and candidate to serve as Israel's ambassador at the UN, speaking in the Knesset plenum as the official representative of the government, praised what the two media outlets call "the Palestine papers."
"When the leaks of Al-Jazeera revealed what the Israeli and Palestinian sides were willing to concede, I saw it as a great blessing, When the truth comes to light, it is always a good thing. In the merit of Al-Jazeera's revelations, we know more of the truth."
Erdan complained that in past peace processes, Palestinian leaders would say one thing to the world and the opposite to their people. He said ignoring what former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was telling his people in Arabic cost thousands of lives. But he said that now what the Palestinian leaders said behind closed doors has become part of the public record.
The minister also complained that the Hebrew press had adopted the efforts of Al-Jazeera to harm the Palestinian Authority and help Hamas by downplaying the Israeli concessions that were revealed while inflating Palestinian concessions.
Erdan, who responded on Monday to the motions on the government’s behalf, used his speeches to attack Kadima leader Tzipi Livni for her proposals to the Palestinians that were revealed this week:
“Livni and Kadima have been trying to advance a false narrative that, had the election not taken place, an agreement would have been achieved, But Livni has not said what her magic formula would be to reach peace after the Palestinians rejected all her concessions".Minister Benny Begin added:
"The maximum that Olmert and Livni were willing to offer, including Lieberman-style ideas, didn’t even reach the minimum the Palestinians were willing to take. So if she says she can make peace, does that mean that she is now willing to give up Ma’aleh Adumim, Efrat and Har Homa?”
While Erdan was praising Al-Jazeera, MKs on the extreme Right and Left were condemning the network.
MK Afu Agbaria (Hadash) accused Al-Jazeera of seeking to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by harming both the PA and Opposition leader Tzipi Livni.
"We need to ask ourselves who benefits from these reports,Only the government of Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu."
